Post by nicola12 on Oct 2, 2011 7:19:53 GMT
Hi 
I am a new member and thought I would share my story - hopefully a cautionary tale against breeding animals with an unknown past.
In April I saw an advert for a pregnant chinchilla, she was being rehomed as her owners were leaving the country. When I got there, the daddy was already gone but there was only one cage there so I guess they had been left to breed and breed together. As we didn't meet daddy chin I don't know who he was - he could have been pet store bought, he could have been the girl's brother, son or other relation. I certainly don't think the original owners knew. They told me this was not her first litter - she had had a few and she was only 6 years old.
We named her Una and set about making her comfortable for what would be her final litter, as my other half and I are pet owners not breeders. I admit it was very exciting and we just could not wait to see the babies!!
They were born in May, a boy and a girl, two perfect beige babies we named Marley and Mia. We weighed them every day, took them to the vets for their first health check, and all seemed well. Marley was smaller at first but soon caught up.
When Mia was 7 weeks old she started to have a fit. I frantically rang around emergency vets (my normal vets doesn't do out of hours) but I was not hysterical because I knew chinchillas were prone to fits. She died in my hands before we could get her to the vets.
Marley was devastated. We put her back in so he and Una could see she was dead and he tried to wake her up. My OH and I were heartbroken - this was our baby we had raised from a newborn.
We decided this must have been a fluke. My regular vet said it was probably genetic but that of course chins can fit for so many reasons, but Marley was fit and well so we had no cause for concern. I found Milo through ChinsRUs forum and bonded him with Marley - it was love at first sight between them.
Marley however had changed overnight since the loss of Mia. Our friendly baby would attack me and my OH when we put our hands in the cage and he only wanted Milo.
A few weeks ago I went to check on them as I do each morning. Marley often lay on the bottom of the cage but Milo never does and that morning he was lying beside Marley. He knew what was coming.
My usual vet was on holiday and is a bit out of the way, so rather than go to see his locum I hurried down the road to the local small animal savvy (but very rude!) vets. Marley was lethargic and rolling, just as Mia had before she started to fit. He was put to sleep.
We don't know why we lost these babies. It could have been because they were bred back to back. It could have been because of bad genetics from 2 chinchillas who should never have bred. It could have been because of inbreeding. All we know is that the original owners had no idea about breeding or the past of the chinchillas when I asked them.
So please think carefully before breeding chinchillas - make sure you know their background and know what you are doing.
I am a new member and thought I would share my story - hopefully a cautionary tale against breeding animals with an unknown past.In April I saw an advert for a pregnant chinchilla, she was being rehomed as her owners were leaving the country. When I got there, the daddy was already gone but there was only one cage there so I guess they had been left to breed and breed together. As we didn't meet daddy chin I don't know who he was - he could have been pet store bought, he could have been the girl's brother, son or other relation. I certainly don't think the original owners knew. They told me this was not her first litter - she had had a few and she was only 6 years old.
We named her Una and set about making her comfortable for what would be her final litter, as my other half and I are pet owners not breeders. I admit it was very exciting and we just could not wait to see the babies!!
They were born in May, a boy and a girl, two perfect beige babies we named Marley and Mia. We weighed them every day, took them to the vets for their first health check, and all seemed well. Marley was smaller at first but soon caught up.
When Mia was 7 weeks old she started to have a fit. I frantically rang around emergency vets (my normal vets doesn't do out of hours) but I was not hysterical because I knew chinchillas were prone to fits. She died in my hands before we could get her to the vets.
Marley was devastated. We put her back in so he and Una could see she was dead and he tried to wake her up. My OH and I were heartbroken - this was our baby we had raised from a newborn.
We decided this must have been a fluke. My regular vet said it was probably genetic but that of course chins can fit for so many reasons, but Marley was fit and well so we had no cause for concern. I found Milo through ChinsRUs forum and bonded him with Marley - it was love at first sight between them.
Marley however had changed overnight since the loss of Mia. Our friendly baby would attack me and my OH when we put our hands in the cage and he only wanted Milo.
A few weeks ago I went to check on them as I do each morning. Marley often lay on the bottom of the cage but Milo never does and that morning he was lying beside Marley. He knew what was coming.
My usual vet was on holiday and is a bit out of the way, so rather than go to see his locum I hurried down the road to the local small animal savvy (but very rude!) vets. Marley was lethargic and rolling, just as Mia had before she started to fit. He was put to sleep.
We don't know why we lost these babies. It could have been because they were bred back to back. It could have been because of bad genetics from 2 chinchillas who should never have bred. It could have been because of inbreeding. All we know is that the original owners had no idea about breeding or the past of the chinchillas when I asked them.
So please think carefully before breeding chinchillas - make sure you know their background and know what you are doing.
but I am getting Milo neutered next month and bonding the 2 together so hopefully it will be a happy ending.